First Republican Steps Up to Challenge Minnesota Sen. Franken

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., will not be running unopposed in his attempt to keep his job.

Businessman Mike McFadden became the first Republican to challenge Franken when he announced Wednesday that he's seeking the first-term senator's seat, the Hill reports.

McFadden, the CEO of a financial services firm, made the announcement in a video with his daughter, in which both laid out his life story and highlighted the contributions he’s made to the community throughout his career.

In the video, McFadden says he's running for the Senate because he's “very concerned about the direction [where] this country is headed,” pointing to the national debt, the state of the education system, and federal spending.

McFadden should be able to considerably self-fund his campaign, which will help running against Franken, who raised almost $2 million in the first quarter of 2013 and has $2 million cash on hand.

Though Republicans believe Franken’s seat could be there for the taking, considering he won by only 312 votes in 2008, McFadden is largely unknown and has never run for public office before.

A recent poll from Democratic firm Public Policy Polling has McFadden's name recognition at 14 percent and Franken ahead of him by 15 percent at 29 percent.